Method and system for electronic commerce using multiple roles

ABSTRACT

A computer system for conducting electronic commerce. The system provides multiple electronic shopping carts for each user. Each electronic shopping cart has an indication of items currently within the electronic shopping cart and billing and shipment information. The system generates a display that identifies each of the electronic shopping carts and sends the generated display to a user computer system. The system then receives a selection of one of the identified electronic shopping carts from the user computer system and receives a selection of an item from the user computer system. In response to receiving the selection of the item, the system adds the item to the selected electronic shopping cart. The system then receives an indication to checkout the items in the selected electronic shopping cart from the user computer system. In response to receiving the indication to checkout, the system ships the items in the selected electronic shopping cart in accordance with the shipment information of the selected electronic shopping cart and bills for the items in the selected electronic shopping cart in accordance with the billing information for the selected electronic shopping cart. The system thus allows a user to select each of the electronic shopping carts for adding items to each electronic shopping cart.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a computer method and system ofelectronic commerce and, more particularly, to a method and system forselecting items to order using a “shopping cart” model.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The Internet is increasingly being used to conduct “electroniccommerce,” because it comprises a vast number of computers and computernetworks that are interconnected through communication links whichfacilitates electronic communications between vendors and purchasers.Electronic commerce refers generally to commercial transactions that areat least partially conducted using the computer systems of the partiesto the transactions. For example, a purchaser can use a personalcomputer to connect via the Internet to a vendor's computer. Thepurchaser can then interact with the vendor's computer to conduct thetransaction. Although many of the commercial transactions that areperformed today could be performed via electronic commerce, theacceptance and wide-spread use of electronic commerce depends, in largepart, upon the ease-of-use of conducting such electronic commerce. Ifelectronic commerce can be easily conducted, then even the novicecomputer user will choose to use electronic commerce. Therefore, it isimportant that techniques be developed to facilitate conductingelectronic commerce.

The Internet provides a network that facilitates conducting electroniccommerce because it uses standardized techniques for exchanginginformation.

Many standards have been established for exchanging information over theInternet, such as electronic mail, Gopher, and the World Wide Web(“WWW”). The WWW service allows a server computer system (i.e., Webserver or Web site) to send graphical Web pages of information to aremote client computer system. The remote client computer system canthen display the Web pages. Each resource (e.g., computer or Web page)of the WWW is uniquely identifiable by a Uniform Resource Locator(“URL”). To view a specific Web page, a client computer system specifiesthe URL for that Web page in a request (e.g., a HyperText TransferProtocol (“HTTP”) request). The request is forwarded to the Web serverthat supports that Web page. When that Web server receives the request,it sends that Web page to the client computer system. When the clientcomputer system receives that Web page, it typically displays the Webpage using a browser. A browser is typically a special-purposeapplication program that effects the requesting of Web pages and thedisplaying of Web pages.

Currently, Web pages are generally defined using HyperText MarkupLanguage (“HTML”). HTML provides a standard set of tags that define howa Web page is to be displayed. When a user indicates to the browser todisplay a Web page, the browser sends a request to the server computersystem to transfer to the client computer system an HTML document thatdefines the Web page. When the requested HTML document is received bythe client computer system, the browser displays the Web page as definedby the HTML document. The HTML document contains various tags thatcontrol the displaying of text, graphics, controls, and other features.The HTML document may contain URLs of other Web pages available on thatserver computer system or other server computer systems.

The World Wide Web portion of the Internet is especially conducive toconducting electronic commerce. Many Web servers have been developedthrough which vendors can advertise and sell product. The products caninclude items (e.g., music) that are delivered electronically to thepurchaser over the Internet and items (e.g., books) that are deliveredthrough conventional distribution channels (e.g., a common carrier). Aserver computer system may provide an electronic version of a catalogthat lists the items that are available. A user, who is a potentialpurchaser, may browse through the catalog using a browser and selectvarious items that are to be purchased. When the user has completedselecting the items to be purchased, the server computer system thenprompts the user for information to complete the ordering of the items.This purchaser-specific order information may include the purchaser'sname, the purchaser's credit card number, and a shipping address for theorder. The server computer system then typically confirms the order bysending a confirming Web page to the client computer system andschedules shipment of the items.

The selection from the electronic catalogs of items to be purchased isgenerally based on a “shopping cart” or “shopping basket” model. Whenthe purchaser selects an item, the server computer system metaphoricallyadds that item to a shopping cart. The server computer system providesWeb pages that allow the purchaser to view and change the quantities ofthe items in the shopping cart. When the purchaser is satisfied with theitems in the shopping cart, the purchaser “checks out” the items thatare in the shopping cart. The purchaser may provide billing and shipmentinformation as part of “check out” process. When check out is complete,the items are then shipped in accordance with the shipment information,and the purchaser is billed in accordance with the billing information.

Although the shopping cart model facilitates the purchasing of items viaelectronic commerce, purchasing items via electronic commerce can stillbe cumbersome. First, a single purchaser may use different billing andshipment information at different times. For example, when purchasingitems for use in the workplace, the purchaser may use a company creditcard and the company's shipping address. In contrast, when purchasingitems for personal use, the purchaser may use a personal credit card anda home address for shipping. It may be cumbersome to re-enter suchinformation or re-select such information when the purchaser ispurchasing for workplace or home use. Second, server computer systemsmay customize recommendations for items to purchase based on thepurchasing or, more generally, access patterns of a user. For example,if a user generally purchases books relating to current politics, thenwhen the user next connects to the server computer system, it mayrecommend that the user purchase a recently released book on currentpolitics. However, if the purchaser purchases different types of itemsat work from the types of items purchased at home, then the servercomputer system may make inappropriate recommendations at certain times.For example, the server computer system may recommend a book on currentpolitics when the user is at work looking for books on computersoftware.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention provide a method and system forconducting electronic commerce with multiple electronic commercecontexts and more generally for interacting with a computer system withmultiple interaction contexts. The electronic commerce system embodimentprovides multiple electronic commerce contexts (e.g., “shopping carts”)for each user. Each electronic commerce context has associatedinformation relating to electronic commerce conducted while the user wasin that electronic commerce context. The electronic commerce systemreceives from the user a selection of one of the electronic commercecontexts. After receiving the selection of the one of the electroniccommerce contexts, the electronic commerce system conducts electroniccommerce with the user. The electronic commerce system associates, withthe selected electronic commerce context, information relating to theelectronic commerce conducted with the user so that when the usersubsequently selects that electronic commerce context, the associatedinformation is available for conducting subsequent electronic commerce.In this way, a user can use various electronic commerce contexts withouthaving to re-specify information (e.g., billing information) relating tothe various electronic commerce contexts.

In one embodiment, the electronic commerce system uses a multipleshopping cart model for each user conducting electronic commerce. Eachshopping cart is intended to be used when a user is purchasing items ina different “role” or different electronic commerce context. Forexample, one shopping cart can be used when the user is acting in aworkplace role purchasing items for work, and another shopping cart canbe used when the user is acting in a personal role purchasing items forpersonal use. The electronic commerce system allows the user to selectthe shopping cart that is appropriate for the user's current role. Asthe user selects items to be purchased, the electronic commerce systemadds the items to the currently selected shopping cart. Each shoppingcart has associated with it information that is related to the role thatthe user is in when the shopping cart is used. This information mayinclude billing and shipment information. In this way, when a userconducts electronic commerce in different roles, the user can select theshopping cart that already has the appropriate billing and shipmentinformation. In addition, the electronic commerce system can track theelectronic commerce activity of the user in each separate role (i.e.,each shopping cart) and customize advertising and recommendations basedon activity performed while the user was in that role.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of the display illustrating the use of a shoppingcart for each electronic commerce context.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the display of shopping cartinformation.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the display after a user has modifiedinformation relating to some of the shopping carts.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a sample data structure forstoring electronic commerce context (“ECC”) profile information.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a routine that processes the selection ofthe new electronic commerce context.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a routine that generates a display for thecurrent context.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of a routine that adds an item to the shoppingcart for the currently selected context.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of a routine that processes a request to viewelectronic commerce context (“ECC”) profile information for a context.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of a routine for updating electronic commercecontext (“ECC”) profile information.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of a routine that stores information on theactivities of a user.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the present invention provides a method and system thatuses a multiple shopping cart model for each user conducting electroniccommerce. Each shopping cart is intended to be used when a user ispurchasing items in a different “role.” For example, one shopping cartcan be used when the user is acting in a workplace role purchasing itemsfor work, and another shopping cart can be used when the user is actingin a personal role purchasing items for personal use. The system of thepresent invention allows the user to select the shopping cart that isappropriate for the user's current role. As the user selects items to bepurchased, the system adds the items to the currently selected shoppingcart. Each shopping cart has associated with it information that isrelated to the role that the user is in when the shopping cart is used.This information may include billing and shipment information. When auser conducts electronic commerce in different roles, the user canselect the shopping cart that already has the appropriate billing andshipment information. In this way, the user can avoid having tore-specify billing and shipping information that is unique to a certainrole. In addition, the system can track the electronic commerce activityof the user in each separate role (i.e., each shopping cart) andcustomize advertising and recommendations based on activity performedwhile the user was in that role.

In one embodiment, the system of the present invention provides ashopping cart selection navigation bar that allows the user to switchbetween shopping carts using a single action (e.g., a mouse click). Theuse of single-action switching between shopping carts greatlyfacilitates conducting the electronic commerce. The selection navigationbar has an area associated with each shopping cart. In one embodiment,the system displays the shopping cart selection navigation bar at thetop of various displays (e.g., Web pages), such as a display thatdescribes an item that can be purchased. By performing the singleaction, the user can quickly switch between separate shopping carts.When the user indicates to add an item to a shopping cart, the systemadds the item to the currently selected shopping cart. A user may usethe shopping cart selection navigation bar to conveniently place an itemin multiple shopping carts. For example, if the user is purchasing itemsfor, say, five relatives, then the user can set up one shopping cart foreach relative. In such an example, each shopping cart will have shipmentinformation for one of the relatives. When the selection navigation baris displayed along with a description of an item, the user can select ashopping cart and then add the item to that shopping cart. The user canthen select the next shopping cart and add the item to that shoppingcart. This process of selecting and adding can be performed for eachshopping cart. In this way, items can be added to multiple shoppingcarts with only two actions (e.g., two mouse clicks), that is, oneaction to select the shopping cart and one action to add the item to thecurrently selected shopping cart.

The system of the present invention also provides a shopping cartviewing navigation bar through which a user can select to viewinformation relating to a certain shopping cart. When a shopping cart isselected from the viewing navigation bar, the system displaysinformation describing the current contents of the selected shoppingcart, information describing past orders that were checked out of thatshopping cart, context naming information (e.g., suggestive of the rolefor which the shopping cart is used), and billing and shipmentinformation. The user can then modify the contents of the shopping cart,check out the contents of the shopping cart, or update the informationrelating to the shopping cart. Alternatively, rather than having aseparate viewing navigation bar that lists each shopping cart, a singlebutton can be provided through which the user can view informationrelating to the currently selected shopping cart.

The system of the present invention is referred to as the multipleelectronic commerce context system (“MECC” system) (or multiple shoppingcart system in one embodiment) because each different role represents adifferent electronic commerce context in which a user conductselectronic commerce. In one embodiment, the MECC system uses a separateshopping cart for each electronic commerce context. However, one skilledin the art will appreciate that the principles of multiple electroniccommercial contexts can be used independent of the shopping cart model.In general, each context can be considered to include an aggregation(e.g., items selected to purchase) and information relating to theaggregation (e.g., billing information). Different metaphors can be usedto refer to the aggregations depending on the type of electroniccommerce being conducted. For example, if the electronic commerce is thepurchasing of books, then the aggregations may be referred to asseparate “bookshelves” rather than shopping carts. In another example,the metaphor of “CD bins” may be used when the electronic commerceinvolves purchasing CDs. The MECC system allows a user to name eachelectronic commerce context so that the user can easily identify theelectronic commerce contexts. For example, the user may name one of theelectronic commerce contexts “Johnny's books,” if the user uses thatcontext to purchase books for Johnny. The MECC system also storeselectronic commerce context (“ECC”) profile information for eachcontext. The ECC profile information includes information describing thecontents of the shopping cart associated with that context, describingpast orders submitted while in that context, and describing pastactivity electronic commerce activity while in that context.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of the display illustrating the use of a shoppingcart for each electronic commerce context. The display includes theshopping cart selection navigation bar 101, item detailed description102, selection box 103, and shopping cart viewing navigation bar 104.The selection navigation bar contains an area for each of five shoppingcarts or electronic commerce contexts. Each shopping cart is currentlyidentified by a number between one and five. The shopping cartidentified by numbered 2 is currently selected as indicated by shading.The item detailed description contains information describing the itemcurrently selected by the user. This information may include pricingdata, availability data, and a general description of the item. Theselection box contains an add-to shopping cart button 103 a andsingle-action ordering button 103 b. The use of single-action orderingis described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/928,951 entitled“Method and System for Placing a Purchase Order Via a CommunicationsNetwork,” which is hereby incorporated by reference. The text 103 ccontains shipment information for the currently selected shopping cartas a reminder to the user. The viewing navigation bar contains an areafor each shopping cart. Initially, it may be that no shopping carts oronly one shopping cart has been defined. In which case, the selectionnavigation bar may be initially not displayed or displayed with onearea. As a user dynamically adds and deletes shopping carts, theselection navigation bar is adjusted accordingly.

When a user selects a shopping cart from the selection navigation bar,the selected shopping cart becomes the current shopping cart, whichchanges the electronic commerce context. The information in theselection box is updated each time a different shopping cart is selectedto reflect the currently selected shopping cart. When a user selects theadd-to shopping cart button, the currently selected item is added to thecurrently selected shopping cart. When a user selects the single-actionordering button, an order is automatically placed for the currentlyselected item. That item is shipped and billed according to the shipmentand billing information of the currently selected shopping cart. A usermay view and update information relating to a shopping cart by selectinga shopping cart from the viewing navigation bar. Alternatively, theviewing navigation bar may be replaced by a single button that whenselected allows the user to view and update information for thecurrently selected shopping cart.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the display of shopping cartinformation. The display contains a current order box 201, the pastorder box 202, and a general information box 203. The current order boxcontains information relating to items currently in the shopping cartthat have not yet been checked out. The shopping cart sub-box 201 acontains a listing of the items currently in the shopping cart. The usermay modify the current order by changing the quantities of the items.The user places the order by selecting the checkout button within theshopping cart sub-box. When the current order is checked out, it becomesa past order and status information is displayed in the past orders box.The single-action pending order sub-box 201 b contains a list of theitems that have been selected using single-action ordering, but have notyet been finalized. Items selected using the single-action orderingtechnique are automatically finalized after a predetermined time (e.g.,60 minutes). Before that predetermined time has expired, the user maychange the order or manually finalize the order using the “finalize now”button in the single-action pending order sub-box. Once thesingle-action order is checked out, it becomes a past order and statusand information is displayed in the past orders box. The generalinformation box contains information pertaining to the shopping cart. Inthis example, the information includes a user-changeable identifierfield, shipping field, and billing field. The user can change theidentifier, which defaults to numeric value, to text that is moremeaningful to the user. For example, the user may change the identifierto the text “Johnny's books” if that shopping cart is used by the userto purchase books for Johnny.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the display after a user has modifiedinformation relating to some of the shopping carts. In this example, theshopping cart selection navigation bar 301 indicates that the firstthree shopping carts have the identifiers “work books,” “cookbooks,” and“Johnny's books,” respectively. The user has not modified the defaultidentifier for shopping carts 4 and 5. The shopping cart viewingnavigation bar 304 also indicates the updated identifiers. Theinformation in the selection box 303 contains information relating tothe currently selected shopping cart—“Johnny's books.”

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of the presentinvention. This embodiment supports electronic commerce with multiplecontexts over the Internet using the World Wide Web. The server system410 includes a server engine 411, various Web pages 412, a user database413, and the multiple electronic commerce context (“MECC”) system (ormultiple shopping cart system in one embodiment). The server enginereceives HTTP requests to access Web pages identified by URLs andprovides the Web pages to the various client systems. Such an HTTPrequest may indicate that the purchaser has performed the single actionto select a different shopping cart or electronic context. The userdatabase includes purchaser-specific order information such as the nameof the user and electronic commerce context (“ECC”) profile informationfor each electronic commerce context. The MECC system contains variouscomponents that perform the functions of multiple electronic commercecontext. Various components are described below in detail. The clientsystem 420 contains a browser 421. The server and client systemsinteract by exchanging information via communications link 430, whichmay include transmission over the Internet.

One skilled in the art would appreciate that the multiple electroniccommerce context techniques can be used in various environments otherthan the Internet. For example, the techniques can be used in a singlecomputer system environment rather than in a client/server environment.Also, various communication channels may be used such as local areanetwork, wide area network, or point-to-point dial up connection. Also,a server system may comprise any combination of hardware or softwarethat can support multiple electronic commerce contexts. A client systemmay comprise any combination of hardware or software that can interactwith the server system. These systems may include television-basedsystems or various other consumer products through which orders may beplaced. In general, the client and server system may include a centralprocessing unit, a memory, and storage devices. The multiple electroniccommerce context (“MECC”) system may be stored in a computer-readablemedium such as memory or a CD-ROM.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a sample data structure forstoring electronic commerce context (“ECC”) profile information. Oneskilled in the art will appreciate that the many different organizationsof data structures could be used. The sample data structure of FIG. 5contains a user table 501, a context mapping table 502, and a contexttable 503. In this example, user table 501 contains an entry for eachuser. Each entry contains a user ID and information describing the user(e.g., user name and email address). For example, one entry representsthe user with the user ID of “JSmith.” The context mapping table 502contains an entry for each context for each user. Each entry contains auser ID and a context ID. For example, the user with the user ID of“JSmith” has two contexts identified by context IDs “204” and “220.” Thecontext table 503 contains an entry for each context. Each entrycontains the context ID and information describing the context (e.g.,context name, and billing information). For example, the contextidentified by the context ID of “204” has the context name of“Johnny's.” The tables of this sample data structure may contain manymore columns of information. For example, the user table may alsocontain the address of the user. The multiple electronic commercecontext (“MECC”) system may access ECC profile information for a user byusing the user's user ID to determine the context ID of the user'scurrent context from the context mapping table. The MECC system may thenuse the retrieved context ID to retrieve the context information for thecontext table. The sample data structure may also contain activityinformation describing electronic commerce activity conducted while auser is in each electronic commerce context. This activity informationmay track items added to a shopping basket, banner advertisementsselected, and Web sites visited when in that electronic commercecontext. The activity information may be collected by logging andtagging the activity with the current electronic commerce context. TheMECC system can then use this collected activity information to, forexample, customize advertising or recommendations while the user is in acertain electronic commerce context.

FIGS. 6-11 illustrate one embodiment of various components of themultiple electronic commercial context (“MECC”) system in the WWWenvironment. FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a routine that processes theselection of the new electronic commerce context. In one embodiment,when a user selects a new context from a shopping cart selectionnavigation bar, a URL is sent to the server computer system. That URLcontains information identifying the new context. This routine performsthe processing to switch the electronic commerce context and generatethe appropriate displays. In step 601, the routine retrieves the contextID (or other identifying information) from the URL received from theclient. In step 602, the routine sets the current context ID for theuser. In step 603, the routine generates a display (e.g., and HTMLdocument) for the current context. The generation of the display isdescribed in detail in FIG. 7. In step 604, the routine sends thegenerated display to the user's client system. The routine thencompletes.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a routine that generates a display for thecurrent context. This routine retrieves the electronic commerce context(“ECC”) profile information for the current context ID and generates thedisplay accordingly. In this embodiment, the generated display isdescribed in a HTML document. In step 701, the routine retrieves thecurrent context ID for the user. In step 702, the routine retrieves theECC profile information for the retrieved context ID. In step 703, theroutine generates a context selection navigation bar (e.g., the shoppingcart selection navigation bar) that identifies each of the contexts forthe user. In step 704, the routine highlights the current context on thegenerated selection navigation bar. In step 705, the routine generatesthe selection box in accordance with the ECC profile information for thecurrent context ID. In step 706, the routine generates the contextviewing navigation bar (e.g., shopping cart viewing navigation bar)based on the retrieved ECC profile information. The routine thenreturns.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of a routine that adds an item to the shoppingcart for the currently selected context. This routine is invoked when auser selects the add-to shopping cart button. In step 801, the routineretrieves the current context ID for the user. In step 802, the routineretrieves the electronic commerce context (“ECC”) profile informationfor the current context ID. In step 803, the routine adds the item tothe shopping cart for the current context ID within the retrieved ECCprofile information. In step 804, the routine updates the ECC profileinformation for the current context ID in the user database. The routinethen completes.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of a routine that processes a request to viewelectronic commerce context (“ECC”) profile information for a context.This routine is invoked when a user selects the context viewingnavigation bar. In step 901, the routine retrieves the context ID (orother identifying information such as user ID and session ID) from theURL associated with the selected portion of the viewing navigation bar.In step 902, the routine retrieves the ECC profile information for theretrieved context ID. In step 903, the routine generates a display forthe retrieved ECC profile information. In step 904, the routine sendsthe generated display for the user's client computer system. The routinethen completes.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of a routine for updating electronic commercecontext (“ECC”) profile information. This routine is invoked when a userindicates to change any of the ECC profile information. For example,this routine is invoked when a user changes shipping information or theidentifier on a context. In step 1001, the routine retrieves the contextID from the URL. Alternatively, the context ID can be retrieved from amapping of a certain key (e.g., ID or user ID) to context ID. In step1002, the routine retrieves the ECC profile information for theretrieved context ID. In step 1003, the routine changes the ECC profileinformation. In step 1004, the routine updates the ECC profileinformation for the retrieved context ID in the user database. Theroutine then completes.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of a routine that stores information on theelectronic commerce activity of a user. The multiple electronic commercecontext (“MECC”) system may track various user activity that occurswhile in each context. For example, the MECC system may track items thatthe user viewed, items that the user purchased, or links that the userassessed while in a context. In step 1 101, the routine retrieves thecurrent context ID for the user. In step 1102, the routine categorizesthe electronic commercial activity (e.g., “viewing” or “selecting” anitem). In step 1103, the routine retrieves the electronic commercecontext (“ECC”) profile information for the current context ID for thecategorization. In step 1104, the routine updates the activityinformation to the ECC profile information. In step 1105, the routineupdates the ECC profile information for the current context ID. Theroutine then completes.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a method and systemfor limiting the scope of the electronic commerce that may be conductedwhile in an electronic commerce context (“ECC”). For example, if theelectronic commerce is the purchasing of video tapes, then the user,when purchasing video tapes for a child, may want to limit displaying ofinformation to only those video tapes with a family-oriented rating(“G”). The multiple electronic commerce context (“MECC”) system limitsthe scope of electronic commerce by allowing the user to define filtersthat can be applied to an ECC. For example, the items available to bepurchased may have various attributes (e.g., cost, rating, or generalcategorization such as documentary) associated with them. The MECCsystem may input from the user a series of filter criteria that specifythe values of attributes, such as “rating=G,” that each item must havein order to be within the scope of the electronic commerce conductedwithin an ECC. Filters may be particularly useful to limit the scope ofelectronic commerce conducted by a child. Also, filters may be passwordprotected so that, for example, a child does not change the filter. Inone embodiment, the MECC system stores the filter criteria along withthe profile information for each electronic commerce context. Oneskilled in the art will appreciate that the filter criteria can bespecified using various well-known techniques, such as listing a seriesof logic conditions for the attributes using logical-ANDs andlogical-ORs. The MECC system may alternatively apply the filter criteriaonly when an item is In selected, rather than when the information forthe item is displayed. In this way, the user may view the informationfor all the available items, but the MECC system would prevent thepurchase of items (or at least warn the user) that do not meet thefilter criteria. The MECC system may also provide predefined filtersthat a user may select for an ECC. For example, a filter may bepredefined for a “country theme” if the items available to be purchasedare video tapes, music CD's, and clothing. The “country theme” mayinclude the filter criterion “book=western or music=country.” In oneembodiment, if the electronic commerce is conducted using a searchengine to identify those items that the user may want to purchase, thenthe filter criteria for the ECC may be automatically applied as part ofeach search for that ECC.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides a method and systemfor providing multiple interaction contexts for a user interacting witha computer system. Each interaction context has associated informationrelating to the interaction conducted while the user was in thatinteraction context. The interaction may be, for example, the conductingof electronic commerce (as described above), the using of a searchengine, or the browsing through Web pages. When engaging in suchinteractions, the user may specify one of the interaction contexts. Thesystem then associates information relating to interaction with thespecified interaction context. When a user subsequently engages ininteractions while that interaction context is currently specified, theassociated information is available to influence the interaction. Forexample, if the interaction is the use of a search engine, then a usermay use one interaction context for home and another interaction contextfor work. If the user is normally interested in legal documents when atwork, then the work interaction context information would relate tolegal documents. In contrast, if the user is normally interested insports documents when at home, then the home interaction contextinformation would relate to sports documents. Thus, when the user inputsa search for the word “court,” the search engine may identify anentirely different set of related documents depending on whether thework or home interaction context is currently selected.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that, although specificembodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes ofillustration, various modifications may be made without deviating fromthe spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the multipleelectronic commerce context (“MECC”) system may provide a facility to“reset” a context to default values or to “copy” a context. That is, ifa user needs to change certain context information (e.g., billing andshipment information), the user can indicate to “reset” or “copy” acontext. When a context is “reset,” its information may be reset tocertain initial values. When a context is “copied.” the information ofthe context replaces the information of another context. Also, invarious embodiments, the shopping cart selection navigation bar can beused for dragging-and-dropping items into the various shopping carts.For example, a user may select an item by depressing a button on apointing device, then drag the selected item to the selection navigationbar, and drop the item into a shopping cart by releasing the button.When an item is dragged-and-dropped into a shopping cart, the MECCsystem may also change the currently selected shopping cart to theshopping cart into which the item has been dropped or maintain thecurrent selection of a shopping cart. Also, a shopping cart (or moregenerally an aggregation) can function as a gift registry. That is, auser can select one or more items to be placed in a shopping cart, andthe shopping cart can be provided to other users. The other users canpurchase a registered item from the shopping cart using the shipmentinformation of the shopping cart but the other user's billinginformation. Once items are purchased, the gift registry is updatedaccordingly. Also, a user's electronic commerce context can be providedto other users so that recommendations for gifts for the user based onelectronic commerce context profile information can be provided to theother users. The term “user” as used herein refers to any entity thatmay use a computer system, such as a person, another computer system, orcomputer program. In addition, the user may operate on behalf of anorganization with an account for conducting electronic commerce. Thus,the user ID may be an account ID for the organization or division of theorganization. Accordingly, the invention is not limited except as by theappended claims.

1-84. (canceled)
 85. A method in a computing system for conductingelectronic commerce, comprising: establishing an account for anorganization, the established account including payment informationusable to obtain payment for electronic commerce activities of any of aplurality of people associated with the organization; and for each ofthe plurality of people associated with the organization: establishingan electronic commerce context for the person; storing in connectionwith the electronic commerce context information relating exclusively tothe person's electronic commerce activities; and using the storedinformation in connection with the person's electronic commerceactivities.
 86. The method of claim 85 wherein the organization is afamily, and each of the plurality of people associated with theorganization is a member of the family.
 87. The method of claim 85wherein available electronic commerce activities include browsing withina set of items, and wherein information is stored for a person of theplurality that restricts the items of the set that may be browsed by theperson.
 88. The method of claim 85 wherein available electronic commerceactivities include ordering items among a set of items, and whereininformation is stored for a person of the plurality that restricts theitems of the set that may be purchased by the person.
 89. The method ofclaim 85 wherein information is stored for each person of the pluralityidentifying items that the person has ordered, and wherein, for eachperson of the plurality, the stored information is used, to theexclusion of information stored for other people of the plurality, toselect items to recommend to the person.
 90. The method of claim 85wherein information is stored for each person of the pluralityidentifying items that the person has browsed, and wherein, for eachperson of the plurality, the stored information is used, to theexclusion of information stored for other people of the plurality, toselect items to recommend to the person.
 91. The method of claim 85wherein information is stored for each person of the pluralityidentifying items that the person has ordered, and wherein, for eachperson of the plurality, the stored information is used to display alist of items including only items that the person has ordered.
 92. Themethod of claim 85 wherein information is stored for each person of theplurality specifying shipping information for the person, and wherein,for each person of the plurality, the shipping information specified bythe stored information is used to ship items ordered by the person. 93.A computer-readable medium whose contents cause a computing system toperform a method for conducting electronic commerce, the methodcomprising: establishing an account for an organization, the establishedaccount including payment information usable to obtain payment forelectronic commerce activities of any of a plurality of peopleassociated with the organization; and for each of the plurality ofpeople associated with the organization: establishing an electroniccommerce context for the person; storing in connection with theelectronic commerce context information relating exclusively to theperson's electronic commerce activities; and using the storedinformation in connection with the person's electronic commerceactivities.
 94. The computer-readable medium of claim 93 wherein theorganization is a family, and each of the plurality of people associatedwith the organization is a member of the family.
 95. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 93 wherein available electroniccommerce activities include browsing within a set of items, and whereininformation is stored for a person of the plurality that restricts theitems of the set that may be browsed by the person.
 96. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 93 wherein available electroniccommerce activities include ordering items among a set of items, andwherein information is stored for a person of the plurality thatrestricts the items of the set that may be purchased by the person. 97.The computer-readable medium of claim 93 wherein information is storedfor each person of the plurality identifying items that the person hasordered, and wherein, for each person of the plurality, the storedinformation is used to select items to recommend to the person.
 98. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 93 wherein information is stored foreach person of the plurality identifying items that the person hasbrowsed, and wherein, for each person of the plurality, the storedinformation is used, to the exclusion of information stored for otherpeople of the plurality, to select items to recommend to the person. 99.The computer-readable medium of claim 93 wherein information is storedfor each person of the plurality identifying items that the person hasordered, and wherein, for each person of the plurality, the storedinformation is used, to the exclusion of information stored for otherpeople of the plurality, to display a list of items including only itemsthat the person has ordered.
 100. The computer-readable medium of claim93 wherein information is stored for each person of the pluralityspecifying shipping information for the person, and wherein, for eachperson of the plurality, the shipping information specified by thestored information is used to ship items ordered by the person.